Appraise
Use this skill to tell an antique from old junk, a sword that’s old and fancy from an elven heirloom, and high-quality jewelry from cheap stuff made to look good. Advanced appraiser's can even indentify magic items. Check: You can appraise common or well-known objects with a DC 12 Appraise check. Failure means that you estimate the value at 50% to 80%. The DM secretly rolls a 1d4+4, multiplies the result by 10%, multiplies the actual value by that percentage, then tells you the resulting value for the item. Appraising a rare or exotic item requires a successful check against DC 15, 20, or higher. If the check is successful, you estimate the value correctly; failure means you cannot estimate the item’s value. A magnifying glass (page 130) gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on Appraise checks involving any item that is small or highly detailed, such as a gem. A merchant’s scale (page 130) gives you a +2 circumstance bonus on Appraise checks involving any items that are valued by weight, including anything made of precious metals. These bonuses stack. Appraising gems Istead of finding the value of a gem, you determine its value (in carat's) The DC is 15+(the worth of a gem in carat's up). If you fail the check, you estimate the value of 50% to 80% the actual worth (in carat's) Identifying magic items You can use the appraise skill to identify magic items. The DC is 20 + 1/5000g the magic item is worth (round down). If the check is successful you understand the basic function of the item (such as a +1 sword is better at attacking). If you beat the check by 5 or more, you understand all the properties of a item. If you use detect magic while trying to appraise a magic item you get a +2 bonus on the check. If you fail to appraise a magic item, you don't gain any useful information. You need at least 5 ranks in appraise to identify magic items, unless you employ spells such as identify. At DM's discretion certain magic items might be harder to appraise, or even give wrong information on a failed check. Action Appraising an item takes 1 minute (ten consecutive full-round actions). You can try to appraise a item as a full round action but you take a -10 penalty to your check. Try Again No. You cannot try again on the same object, regardless of success. Special A dwarf gets a +2 racial bonus on Appraise checks that are related to stone or metal items because dwarves are familiar with valuable items of all kinds (especially those made of stone or metal). The master of a raven familiar (see the Familiars sidebar, page 52) gains a +3 bonus on Appraise checks. A character with the Diligent feat gets a +2 bonus on Appraise checks. Synergy: If you have 5 ranks in any Craft skill, you gain a +2 bonus on Appraise checks related to items made with that Craft skill (see Craft, page 70). A identify spell gives you a +20 circumstance bonus to the appraise check to indentify magic items (for one item only). A analyze dweomer spell gives you a bonus of 15+caster level on your appraise checks to identify a magic item while the spell lasts, and you can identify a magic item once per round (without penalty). Untrained: You can only attempt to appraise items of DC 15 and lower. You can take 10 on this check (but you cant take 20). You also cant take 10 if you are performing this check as a full round action. The DM secretly makes the rolls for you if you don't chose to take 10. Category:skills